Brian Regan

I've received my first official review of The Summer of Moonlight Secrets!

From The Children's Book Reporter: "Danette Haworth created a cast of lovable, believable characters, and put them in an absolutely incredible setting." Please visit The Book Report and read the whole review.

Oh. I thought it meant that my Irishness pervaded even my eyes. The doctor went on to tell my that my pupils were unusually large All the better to see you with, heh-heh, and that he didn't even need to perform the usual dilation.

I left with a slight prescription and the doctor's opinion that the $2.00 cheater glasses were working well enough for now.

Later, I wondered about my unusually large pupils. Being an amateur photographer, I knew that my F-stops were allowing in more light.

I am a nocturnal being.

I checked my cuspids but saw no fangs. I am not related to Edward, Barnabas Collins, Nosferatu, or even Dracula. No, I'm afraid the problem is simple and much more common: insomnia. Now this doesn't relate to freckled, big pupils, but I had a rotten night of sleep, so I'm going to travel down this tangent.

Here's a link to ten famous insomniacs and their unusual approaches to the problem. I like entry #2: Amy Lowell, poet: in a hotel, Lowell hired five rooms--one to sleep in, and empty rooms above, below, and on either side, in order to guarantee quiet.

Another website tells me that more women than men suffer from insomnia. They discuss a litany of reasons why. Silly male doctors. Here's the real reason your wife can't get any sleep: She weighs half as much as you do. When she rolls over, you feel nothing. When you roll over, she feels like she's cresting a water bed with no baffle. Also, she does not snore.

In doing some Internet research for my current revision, I found my dad's name on a memorial brick for Air Force veterans. I was just trying to see if I could find any references to his AF career, so it shocked me to the point of tears to see this memorial instead.

My father loved being in the Air Force. He couldn't wait to get out of his one factory coal town. After he enlisted, he first worked as a ham radio operator, a job he enjoyed. He had a series of assignments that took him (and later us) all over the world and he made friends everywhere.

One of the best parts of my childhood was living on base, McGuire AFB, New Jersey. There's no such thing as being a new kid on an Air Force Base. Everyone's new. The homes were townhomes, arranged as three sides of a square, the open side being a huge playground. After school, we all spilled out onto the field to join the kickball game. I had a best friend on my first day. (I was pretty good at kickball.)

It was the only time we ever lived on base. My dad was a recruiter, and you can't find new recruits on base. My almost three years in New Jersey wiped out the English accent I arrived there with, but moving around so much has mixed up my dialect. Most people ask me if I'm from Canada. I don't know why, but I like that.

My dad grew up in Pennsylvania. He said "crick" instead of "creek." "Pitza" was picked up from local joint, loaded with pepperoni and onions. My mom loved his accent and thought he was funny. They met while they were both on dates with other people. Two months later they were married.

The paperback edition for Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning is out today! My favorite element of the new cover is the footbridge. The artist captured it perfectly; it looks dangerous and rickety, and I swear if Violet doesn't look like she's swaying on it.

When I was younger and had to sell cookies, we were taught to say, "How many boxes should I put you down for?" If you want to add Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning to your bookshelf, check out the Violet Raines giveaways on Twitter and Goodreads.

Call your bookies, I'm laying down some predictions for what I think will be American Idol Season 9's Top Ten.

I just finished watching the recording from last night, and I wrote down eight names, figuring the other two would be filled by contestants to whom they haven't given air time (so they can pull a big upset later). By the time I got to my computer, I could only remember impressions of six of them. BAM! Two people cut already.

Here are my early predictions for the top ten:

Andrew Garcia--Can you believe what he did with Paula's song? He put me in a smokey lounge with his cool rendition. Very excellent!

Haely Vaughn--I liked her little laugh at the end of her song. Energetic, big voice, and young!

Lilly Scott--This girl is cool. From her straight blue-platinum hair to her jazzy voice, she has got the goods. I hope she makes it to the top five.

I am blighted and ashamed. Lift your hand to me, and I will be restored. Once, I stood, open and ready before you. Now my contents spill over like vomit from a drunk. Your neighbors to the south snicker as they pass; your own children hold their noses against my stench. In shame, they lift their scooters and roll out through the house. In shame, they enter only through the front door. In shame, my mouth remains shut.

But you, my master, have the power to lift this ruin from me. Remember when I was new, when you saw that I was good and housed your car and not trash in my belly. Do this for me this weekend, master, that I may lift my door and show my glory to your neighbors. He is good, they will say. We were mistaken. Your children will access my innermost parts and the feet of your bride will alight upon my floor once more.

And for you, I will house you in comfort and organization forevermore.

I'm so excited! My editor sent The Summer of Moonlight Secrets to a writer I respect and admire--Barbara O'Connor. Barbara read the ARC and is providing this blurb and has given me permission to blast it into all corners of cyberspace!

“The Summer of Moonlight Secrets is like nothing I've read before: the perfect combination of intrigue, suspense, humor, and folklore. With characters so real you'll think you've met them and a gloriously unique setting, Danette Haworth delivers the whole package.” —Barbara O’Connor, author of How to Steal a Dog and Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia

A Whole Lot of Lucky

me & jack

The Summer of Moonlight Secrets

Violet

Scholastic Book Trailer for Violet Raines

Thoughts on Writing

"If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster." --Isaac Asimov

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up, because by that time I was too famous." --Robert Benchley

"When writers meet, they are truculent, indifferent, or over-polite. Then comes the inevitable moment. A shows B that he has read something of B's. Will B show A? If not, then A hates B; if yes, then all is well." --Cyril Connolly"Yes, it's hard to write, but it's harder not to." --Carl Van Doren

"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." --Gene Fowler"I always write a good first line, but I have trouble writing the others." --MoliFre

"What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window." --Burton Rascoe

"Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else." --Gloria Steinem

"I love being a writer; what I can't stand is the paperwork." --Peter De Vries

"This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back in again." --Oscar Wilde"I will tell you a story." --Jesus (Matthew 21:28, CEV)